I have been inspired to take up my virtual pen once again as I stumble through the bizarre profession of parenting. Iris didn’t come with instructions, she’s not given me any sales targets and stubbornly refuses to respond to carefully crafted sentences or well-devised Twitter hashtags.

There’s so much to learn and so many resources from which to learn it. How easy it is to spend hours trawling through online forums looking for the definitive guide to the colour and consistency of the contents of your child’s nappies. How variable the advice of blogs and healthcare professionals on the efficacy of sleep techniques and routines.

On some days, the practice of parenting seems to be all about paranoia – am I doing it right? Are other people doing it better? How do I know? On others, usually the ones that follow a few hours uninterrupted sleep, it can feel like the most natural thing in the world.

But there is so much they don’t tell you. Be it your mum, your best friend, your midwife or the well-meaning old lady in the lift in John Lewis. I’m sure I can’t fill in all the gaps, but I can give it a try.

Duck, both roasted whole and in pieces, has grown in popularity. Many of us who would only have been familiar with the crispy shredded variety are becoming more adventurous, with duck appearing regularly both on restaurant menus
and at home.

And our duck recipes are becoming more experimental. As tasty as the traditional plum sauce and ‘à l’orange’ may be, duck also pairs wonderfully with other sour flavours including rhubarb, cherries, balsamic vinegar and even pineapple. Both wild and farmed duck can be marinated, but be careful not to overpower or ruin its distinctive flavour. Wild duck can occasionally be dry and may benefit from marinating for around 4-6 hours.

Whatever you pair with this rich and flavoursome meat, the success of your dish will hinge on how well your duck is cooked. So, choose your accompaniments and follow our guide for sensational pan-fried duck.

The perfect pan-fried duck breast

If you can, the day before you intend to cook your duck, spread the breasts out on a plate skin side up and cover with
greaseproof paper. This will help you to get the skins really crispy. Wild duck cooks best from room temperature, so remove the breasts from the fridge around half an hour before cooking.

Use a sharp knife to lightly score the skin of each breast. Rub sea salt into the skin and season the flesh with salt and pepper.

Bring a dry, heavy-bottomed frying pan up to a high heat. There is no need to add oil or fat, as plenty will be released by the skin. Place the breasts in the pan, skin side down, and cook for around four minutes until the skin is crisp and golden.

Turn the meat over and cook for a further five minutes for a pink duck breast, or longer if you prefer.

Remove the duck from the pan and rest for five minutes before slicing on the diagonal and serving.

Published in Bite Magazine September 2010

You’ll have to get creative with your cooking, but with your weekly shop in front of your eyes you’ll be inclined to waste less and avoid impulse buys in the supermarket. You’ll also learn new recipes to make the most of your box and perhaps discover things you didn’t know you liked. Properly stored, organic fruit and veg will also keep for longer than its supermarket counterparts.

Edinburgh has a wealth of veg box schemes for all sizes of household and budget. So dig in!

Grow Wild

Unit 8 Block 3, Whiteside Industrial Estate, Bathgate, West Lothian, EH48 2RX

01506 656544

www.growwild.co.uk

Fruit and veg boxes are priced from £11.75-£29.95, with bags dedicated to either British or Mediterranean produce also available. Fruit bags, fruits for juicing, dairy products and store cupboard items can also be added. Prices include delivery in central Edinburgh or Glasgow, but a £1 charge applies elsewhere.

East Coast Organics

24 Boggs Holdings, Pencaitland, East Lothian, EH34 5BD

01875 340227

www.eastcoastorganics.co.uk

Standard boxes are £12 and small boxes of fruit or veg are £6 each. Mixed boxes are £18 and eggs can be added to make a family box for £24. A wide range of extras are available including milk, cheese, bread, salad and herbs. Free delivery for orders over £10.

Damhead Organic Farm and Shop

32a Damhead, Old Pentland Road, Edinburgh, EH10 7EA

0131 445 7425

www.damhead.co.uk

Fruit or veg boxes are £11.50 or £15. Mixed boxes are priced from £13.50 to £26 for a family box. If you’re determined to cut down food miles, a bag of local produce costs £12. There is a one-off delivery charge of £5 on your first order.

Phantassie

East Linton, East Lothian, EH40 3DF

01620 861531

www.phantassie.co.uk

Veg boxes are available from £10-£18 and fruit can be added at £2.50 per bag. Eggs and other extras are also available. Free delivery for orders over £10.

Published in Bite Magazine September 2010

For the freshest organic strawberries, it used to be best to visit your local farmers’ market or pick your own farm. However, for those of us that don’t have the time or energy to make it beyond the supermarket, Scottish company Good Natured is bringing the best berries to a Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Asda or Morrisons near you.

Good Natured Fruit is grown near Arbroath, where the warm days and cool nights of summer are perfect for producing soft fruits. What’s more, they’re completely pesticide residue-free – protected by natural predators like ladybirds to eat up potential pests and careful monitoring of crops. Even the packaging is good for you: Good Natured’s revolutionary, fully recyclable punnet is made from sustainable cardboard offcuts; even the plastic film lid is completely biodegradable.

Strawberries are, of course, good for you too. I like them best for breakfast, when their cool, delicate sweetness and Vitamin C hit make the perfect morning pick-me-up. If you’re in a rush, try a smoothie with berries, banana, milk, honey and a handful of rolled oats. Or why not be organised and make a big batch of this moreish granola? Serve with strawberries and yogurt at any time of the day.

Granola

(makes a 2.5 litre tub)

Ingredients

450g rolled oats
250g seeds of your choice – pumpkin, sunflower, sesame etc.
175g stewed apple
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
120g maple syrup
4 tbsp runny honey
100g sugar
250g nuts of your choice, whole or chopped – almonds, walnuts and brazils are good
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sunflower oil
300g raisins or other dried fruit

Method

Preheat your oven to 170°C.

Combine all the ingredients except the raisins in a large bowl and mix well.

Spread the mixture between two oven dishes and bake for around 40 minutes until golden brown. The time will vary depending on your oven – keep checking and turning the granola over so it browns evenly.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Stir in the raisins and store in an airtight container to use whenever you like.

Published in Bite Magazine August 2010

Despite the best of intentions, I freely admit to doing the bulk of my shopping in the supermarket. But, thanks to the new Village Store at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Dalmeny Street, I, and the rest of you Leithers, no longer have any excuse.

Out of the Blue is committed to promoting sustainability in all its work; so much so that they have a budget from the Climate Challenge Fund for a Carbon Reduction Officer, Rosie Lewis. She hopes the Village Store will provide plenty of convenience for local shoppers and some inspiration for the community to reduce its carbon footprint.

“We are being told that we need to cut our food miles and shop local but sometimes that can be very hard to achieve in a busy life, so we hope the Village Store will help people in the community be more green in a way that is easy, friendly and local. Coming to the Drill Hall on a Saturday morning is a far nicer way to start your weekend than having to go to a big supermarket.”

The Village Store is not a new concept, but was closed while the Drill Hall underwent the final stage of its seven year refurbishment. But now it’s back, in an improved space with an improved access, an outdoor area, more studios and a bigger and better kitchen for the popular Drill Hall Arts Café.

Open from 10am-2pm every Saturday, the Village Store only stocks products from local farms, suppliers and producers including Phantassie Foods, Edinburgh Community Food and Bridgend Organic Allotments. You’ll
find fresh, local and seasonal fruit and vegetables, eggs, jam and cakes. It also provides refills for Ecover cleaning products and staff are on-hand to give shoppers cooking tips and recipe ideas.

Out of the Blue
Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG

Buses: 7, 10, 12, 16, 13, 14, 22, 25, 49

www.outoftheblue.org.uk

Published in Bite Magazine August 2010

Having pottered around trying to look busy while husband happily set about being all masculine and dragging grass, weeds, stones and bits of wood out of the ground, I finally felt obligated to take over with the rake. Unfortunately I had already completed my one press-up exercise routine that day so it was game over in a matter of minutes. I began to suspect I have as much of a natural instinct for gardening as Charlie Dimmock does for under-wiring.

But we (I use that word in the loosest sense – it would be fairer to say ‘mainly not me’) persevered. Where once there were waist high nettles and angry looking unidentifiable thorny branches, there is now mainly earth, rocks and remnants of scaffolding from last summer’s statutory notice. However, despite a distinct reduction in the amount of foliage, if I’m honest, it still looks like a bombsite.

Garden Centre Pornography

With the neighbours’ gardens laid out to lawn, with shaded seating ar- eas and the occasional water feature, I must confess to feeling somewhat ashamed of my efforts. The lady in the next garden along always smiles sympathetically, as if she’s just wait- ing for us to realise we’re fighting a losing battle and take our pound shop garden tools back upstairs.

This might have happened had we not decided to get creative in the form of a rockery which, though it didn’t have any actual plants growing in or around it, made us feel that one vital step closer to the Royal Horticultural Society Show. And so straightforward: collect misshapen rocks from your bombsite/garden; lay them on the ground in a circle; fill with earth and top with more rocks. Easy.

Enthused by our brand new feature and buoyed by a visit to some friends’ enviably productive allotment (lucky beggars), we embarked on the next phase of our passage into Gardener’s World – the Sunday afternoon trip to B&Q. And we’re not talking the tiny little B&Q on Easter Road here, no no no, we’re talking mega out of town garden centre pornography B&Q at Newcraighall. These gardeners meant business.

And who should be there to greet us but TV’s very own Alan Titchmarsh, in disturbingly slightly larger than life size cardboard cut-out form. Everywhere you turned there he was, his sparkly eyes and cheeky little grin willing you deeper into a world of turf, shrubs and weapons grade weed killer. Alan wasted no time in seducing us to the vegetable and herb seedlings rack, where lots of cute little baby plants were looking for people to take them out of their polystyrene cages and give them a new home.

Just a few hours later, wellies on and trowel in hand, I felt for the first time like Tom and Barbara. I made a very professional looking teepee with bamboo canes tied with string, around which my French beans will trail. I dug even spaced holes in what has now become the vegetable patch and attempted to separate matted together broad bean shoots into single plants to fill them. I was gardening!

Some varieties, I will admit, were pretty much dead on arrival. My overzealous separation of sweetcorn plants has resulted in one somewhat lame, spindly looking offering and a surrounding patch of floppy brown leaves. The sugar snap peas are currently far from snappy and the oregano seems to have had an unfortunate incident with the full bladder of one of next-door’s cats. But according to our new, if somewhat two dimensional, gardening guru Mr Titchmarsh, we should really have planted most of these in May. If only we’d discovered wisdom sooner.

Titchmarsh Replicas

Yet surprisingly, (both to me and to husband, who winces every time I even pick up a watering can), the beans are climbing despite the attentions of some kind of leaf-munching insect and the beetroot plants I was assured would die are doing brilliantly, if I do say so myself. Every time I look out of the window at those perky little purple shoots and fragile wee leaves reaching up to the sun I feel genuinely warm inside.

But not as warm as some, Alan may have only assisted me in finding my way to the vegetables, but according to B&Q his replicas have been causing quite a stir, with female fans posing for pictures with their idol. Some diehard Titchmarsh-lovers have even approached their local store in the hope of being allowed to take one home. Forget my beetroot that really is garden centre porn.

Published in The Leither July 2010

In truth, however, anything goes – different cuisines favour different sizes and cooking methods. Italians eat them raw with Pecorino cheese and the French use small beans and eat them whole, steamed in their pods. They’re wonderfully creamy in risotto with salty bacon, or blended with garlic and mint as a dip. If you have space, it’s worth growing your own so you can use these sweet and delicious beans at any stage you like, from pea-sized to fully grown.

The only thing to remember is the bigger they are, the less of the plant you can eat. For large beans, around 1kg will give you a shelled and skinned weight of about 300g. But don’t let this put you off – shelling beans in the summer sun is very therapeutic!

The recipe below comes from Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook (Bloomsbury), which is a fantastic book for anyone
wanting to make the most of seasonal food. The beauty of this salad is its simplicity – just a few store-cupboard ingredients and fresh herbs will make something delicious in minutes. Vary the herbs according yo what you have
available, either from the shops or your own garden.

Sarah Raven’s Warm Broad Bean Salad

(Serves 6)

400g (shelled weight) broad beans
1 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp chopped chervil
½ tsp chopped tarragon
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley, to serve

Method

Cook the broad beans in boiling water for approximately five minutes, depending on their size.

Drain and rinse under cold water to stop them cooking. If you’re using larger beans, remove the skins as these will be tough.

Mix the vinegar, spring onion, mint, chervil and tarragon in a bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, reserving one tablespoon.

Gently heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add the broad beans and toss until warm.

Transfer to a serving dish, add the dressing and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Published in Bite Magazine July 2010

Part of the problem is that we buy more than we need and allow leftovers or unused products to spoil. However, we’re also throwing food away before we even need to. Zero Waste Scotland, the Scottish Government’s programme to reduce waste and encourage recycling, estimates that two thirds of our food waste could have been eaten. And what’s more, much of it is actually still within date and even sealed in its original packaging.

Zero Waste Scotland works in conjunction with the UK-wide campaign Love Food Hate Waste. The initiative’s interactive website offers a wealth of advice on how to reduce the amount of food we throw out. This could be making a shopping list to make sure you only buy what you need, or clearing up the difference between a
‘use-by date’, which should be adhered to, or a ‘best-before date’, which only acts as a guideline.

Something as straightforward as where you store your food can also make a difference. Most fruit and vegetables will keep longer in the fridge, sometimes as much as two weeks more; and simple tricks like always using a clean knife for
jam or sauces can prevent contamination and ensure the product stays fresh until the end of the jar.

Perhaps the most useful tools the Love Food HateWaste campaign provides are guidelines for portion sizes. Simply type in what you’re cooking – rice, pasta, etc. – and the number of portions you need, and the website will calculate the dry weight required. This should help reduce seemingly uninspiring leftovers, but if you open the fridge to a sea of bits and pieces, type your list of ingredients into the recipe finder and let the website do the rest.

Now, with an iPhone application, Facebook and Twitter page, there really is no excuse for not making an effort to
reduce the food we waste, and pick up some extra culinary knowledge in the process.

www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Published in Bite Magazine July 2010

But who could fail to be impressed by the red carpet and marble lobby? Dining in the exclusive-sounding Club
Room, we were greeted by a sumptuous hall of wood panellingand mirrors, inviting banquette seating
and decadent chandeliers. On the wine list, we’re delighted to discover four red and white options at the house wine price of £19.50 – how refreshing to feel like you can still have a chance to choose your wine without breaking the bank. We chose a fresh and floral white Rioja.

If the decor seems traditional, then so is the menu. The problem with classic dishes like Caesar salad and vegetable
lasagne is that everyone already knows what they want them to taste like, and this made me approach with caution. Yet, here the classics lived up to, and perhaps even exceeded, expectations.

We started with smoked salmon (£8.50), simply served with capers, red onion and chopped egg, and buffalo mozzarella, tomato and balsamic salad (£7.50). Both starters were carefully presented and prepared with the freshest ingredients – and it showed.

For mains, my friend chose haddock and chips (£14.50). Again there was nowhere to hide with this dish, but the fish was thick-cut and flaky, the batter light and the chips crisp. The portion was massive, but then the waitress did describe it as “a whale”! I opted for a wonderfully moist salmon fillet (£15.50) served with rich and moreish black pudding mash and tender, garlicky wild mushrooms.

Although we claimed we were full, we seemed to have no trouble polishing off a portion of warm apple pie (£7.00) for dessert. The apples were complemented by juicy sultanas and walnuts, in crisp short crust pastry complete with cream AND ice cream. I no longer need convincing that traditional is definitely good!

14 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PF
0131 624 8624
www.thedomeedinburgh.com

Opening hours
The Grill Room: Everyday 12pm – late
The Club Room: Mon-Wed 10am – 5pm
Thurs-Sat 10am – late
Closed Sundays

Published in Bite Magazine July 2010

And so it was for me yesterday. Of late I have mostly been baking muffins, with the occasional foray into loaf cakes, but yesterday I was feeling chocolatey. I received the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook as a Christmas present, but must confess I’ve never got far beyond the cupcakes section. Flicking through its glamourous pages over a cup of tea, my eye was caught by a glossy, dark offering which was just what the doctor ordered.

And I cannot praise it highly enough. Really easy and quick to make, with no sifting, beating or associated baking faff and, after half an hour in the oven, out come perfectly cooked, flaky on top, squidgy and filthily sweet brownies. As with all chocolate recipes, the better the chocolate the better the end result. I chose to jazz things up a bit by using the Co-op’s Fairtrade dark chocolate with spices and orange oil which gave the brownies a slightly gingery and warming kick that was almost Christmassy.

I guess you could use mint flavoured chocolate or anything else you fancied. Next time I’ll probably add walnuts or hazlenuts too, to add texture and cut through some of the sweetness. They’d be amazing with cream or ice cream as a proper pud, but they are brilliant with a double espresso for a combined caffeine hit and sugar rush like no other.

Go and get yourself the recipe and make Hummingbird Bakery brownies right now.